Part 5/9:
The misuse of terms like “biodegradable” is rampant in the market. Retail giant Walmart, in its 2017 annual report, asserted its commitment to sustainability while marketing products—primarily plastic bags—as biodegradable. In reality, these products could take hundreds of years to decompose and required specific industrial conditions that are hardly accessible to the average consumer. The misrepresentation of such terms can mislead shoppers into thinking their purchases are significantly less harmful to the environment than they are.